House approves FISA surveillance renewal despite GOP pushback

The House of Representatives voted 273-147 on Friday to reauthorize a controversial section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Two days before, a House vote rejected an earlier version of the provision. Section 702 has allowed for warrantless surveillance of foreign intelligence targets deemed to threaten U.S. National Security, according to a summary of the program published by the Director of National Intelligence. The legislation approved by the House on Friday would authorize Section 702 through 2026.

Who had resisted the authorization and why? Republican members of Congress such as Reps. Lauren Boebert, Chip Roy, and Jim Jordan pushed back on reauthorizing the statute because they said it allowed warrantless surveillance of Americans. Former President Donald Trump had also urged that Section 702 not be renewed, saying it had been wrongly used to surveil him, his campaign, and other individuals.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about how the House failed to pass the renewal earlier this week.